Operation Firefly

by Liane Young

A compelling work of historical fiction written by the former director of corporate communications for the Office of Naval Research Liane Young, Operation Firefly reveals the amazing true story of the smokejumpers of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the US Army’s first all-black test platoon.

Toward the end of WWII, the Japanese begin attaching incendiary and antipersonnel bombs to hydrogen-filled paper balloons and sending them across the Pacific Ocean. Over the course of the Fu-Go program, almost ten thousand balloon bombs are launched, setting off hundreds of forest fires along the West Coast of the United States. But in a ploy to trick the Japanese into thinking their bombing campaign is ineffective, the US government keeps it all under wraps. After six innocent civilians are killed, the “Triple Nickles” are quietly dispatched to Pendleton Field, Oregon, on Operation Firefly.

Young draws you into this riveting, little-known chapter of American history by masterfully weaving the story of Captain Tucker Freeman and several other fictionalized characters into factual accounts.

This remarkable eighteen-man team’s missions have them parachuting into dangerous situations to fight forest fires and defuse live Fu-Go bombs. Facing external racism and internal personality clashes, the tension builds, culminating in a dramatic race against the clock at a top-secret Manhattan Project site.

408 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2014

About the author

Liane Young is a retired director of corporate communications for the Office of Naval Research. She is the winner of the 2012 Virginia Screenwriting Competition for Operation Firefly, which tells the amazing, little-known story of the US Army’s first all-black test platoon, the “Triple Nickles” 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Currently living with her husband, Tom, in Virginia, she is working on her next novel, The Himalayan Teapot.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved everything about this book! Engaging characters, danger, racial issues, and a little know historical story. This book has it all! I would absolutely recommend reading, and sharing!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great historical read. The only problem was in its editing. There were misspelled words and simple errors throughout this book. It really didn't take too much away from the action, but I definitely noticed the mistakes. One example happened on page 171, when talking of static lines, the words read "static lined" instead. On page 249, a sentence started with the word "Tuckered", but it was suppose to be the main character's name of Tucker. Then another example was on page 339 on the first line. The word "watched" was used, instead of watch. Little mistakes like these happened around fifteen times throughout this book. Maybe in a future edition these sentences can be edited. However, this book was very informative with many truths woven in the storyline. I enjoyed how the plot really held my interest for nearly the last ninety pages. I liked it!

[Fred Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book with a strong story and very likable characters. I couldn't put it down.